World and European Medalist Mathis Nottelet Takes Double Golds at French Nationals

At French national beach sprint championships in La Seyne-sur-Mer last weekend, Matthis Nottelet won the men’s solo for the second consecutive year, and added a second gold in the mixed double alongside Helene Lefebvre. French teammate Chloe Briard won in the women’s solo, and was runner up in the double with Vincent Noirot.

In 2025, Nottelet had to settle for second place in the double at nationals, but went on to pick up bronze medals in the men’s solo at both European and world beach sprint championships. Briard also came home from worlds in Antalya, Turkey, with bronze from the mixed double, where she had raced with Antoine Lefebvre.

However, while last year France sent a team of eight athletes to compete in the European beach sprint championships, no French rowers are on the entry list for this year’s European championships next week. That means that the French team, including Nottelet and Briard, will likely turn their attention directly to worlds in Qingdao, China, just over a month from now.

France has a long tradition of rowing on flat water, and sits 12th and 11th on the all-time Olympic and world championship medal tables, respectively. But while the country is considered one of the key places where coastal rowing first developed, and is one of a handful of nations that have competed at every beach sprint world championship, its success so far in beach sprint has been frustrated. France sits just four total medals behind all-time leader Spain, yet it has just two golds to its neighbor’s haul of 11.

French participation will surely be missed in La Línea, but perhaps skipping those continental championships will help the country start catching back up on a world scale.

The podiums from the 2026 French national championships were:

CW1x:

1. Chloe Briard – Lyon Caluire
2. Elodie Ravera – Encouragement
3. Helene Lefebvre – Encouragement

CM1x:

1. Mathis Nottelet – Joinville
2. Antoine Lefebvre – Meulan-les-Mureaux
3. Vincent Noirot – Lyon Caluire

CMix2x:

1. Mathis Nottelet, Helene Lefebvre – Encouragement/Joinville
2. Chloe Briard, Vincent Noirot – Lyon Caluire
3. Antoine Lefebvre, Manon Peleter-Royo – Encouragement/Meulan-les-Mureaux

CMix4x+:

1. Paul Mosser, Josephine Cornut Danjou, Elodie Ravera, Ludovic Dubuis, Edwige Alfred (c) – Chambery/Grenoble/Encouragement
2. Kerrian Boulay, Clement Thomas, Jessica Berra, Charline Lebreton, Aurore Combes (c) – St-Malo/Grau du Roi/Hendaye
3. Louis Fontanili, Geoffrey Guillon, Manon Masini, Tess Fabre, Thomas Aubel (c) – Monaco/Villeneuve

U19 CW1x:

1. Amy Boodle – St-Cassien
2. Lina Hofland – Mantes
3. Lilya Bouchikhi – Ris-Orangis

U19 CM1x:

1. Hugo Albin – Monaco
2. Raphael de Boussac – La Seyne-sur-Mer
3. Arthur Brecou – Fenouillet

U19 CMix2x:

1. Elisa Guilloton, Raphael de Boussac – La Seyne-sur-Mer/Beaucaire
2. Hugo Albin, Tess Fabre – Monaco
3. Willy Didiot, Jolyn Sun – La Seyne-sur-Mer

U19 CMix4x+:

1. Clement Tissot, Leanne Prevoteau, Sasha Hallouin, Louis Stento, Laurélie Riffault (c) – Sete
2. Paul Dupont San Sebastian, Andoni Garbisu, Stella Etchaide, Elaia Boulanger, Paul Chevalier (c) – St-Jean-de-Luz/Bayonne
3. Lilwenn Dequidt, Camille Castera, Ivan Georgiev, Arthur Brecou, Thomas Aubel (c) – Monaco/Marseille/Fenouillet/Lyon Caluire

U17 CMix2x:

1. Arthur Brecou, Amy Boodle – St-Cassien
2. Oscar Nixon, Diana Guedikian – St-Cassien
3. Tess Beauvois, Sasha Peri – Monaco

U17 CMix4x+:

1. Daniel Krige, Tess Beauvois, Alice Iannessi, Sasha Peri, Théodore Drappier(c) – Monaco
2. Julie Zani, William Koutnik, Romain Lozano-Andron, Zoe Collin, Laurélie Riffault (c) – Montpitol/Moissac/Sete/La Grande Motte

Masters CMix2x:

1. Emma Denjean/Benoit Mercier – Le Grau-du-Roi/Cassis
2. Veronique Couvreur, Benoit Ordoqui – St-Jean-de-Luz
3. Elsa Julie Compagnon, Maxime Dalmon – Meyzieu/Sete